


Lonely Girls' Christmas

by AlexIsOkay



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Christmas, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28245807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexIsOkay/pseuds/AlexIsOkay
Summary: Monika and Natsuki are trapped at work together on Christmas Eve.
Relationships: Monika/Natsuki (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	Lonely Girls' Christmas

Monika shivered as the wind nipped at her cheeks and made her fingers numb. It was fucking freezing, and the half-foot of crunchy snow she was standing in wasn’t doing her any favors either. She wasn’t thrilled about having to come around to the unplowed back of the building every time she wanted to take a smoke break, though she supposed it at least offered some reprieve from the Christmas music that had been playing nonstop over the store’s speakers for the past five weeks. Working retail around the holidays was hell.

Monika’s cigarette had nearly burned down to the butt at this point, and taking one last drag off of it Monika flicked it to the ground, stomping it out underneath her foot. She felt a little bit bad just leaving it there in the snow like that, but it wasn’t her fault there weren’t any ashtrays back here. Plus, this snow was already disgusting anyway. Not like she was making it any worse.

With her cigarette finally depleted Monika shoved her hands back into her pockets, shielding them from the cold for those precious five seconds it took to walk over to the back door and push her way through it. The back of the store was always a few degrees cooler than the floor, though even then it was still a sharp contrast to the air outside, and Monika let out a long sigh of relief as she felt that heated air washing over her rosy cheeks. Even then it took a few more seconds before she was willing to shed her coat and hang it up on one of the hooks, but eventually she did just that, grabbing her name tag off a peg on the door with an “Employees Only” sign mounted on the other side, and then pushing through it.

The moment Monika opened the door she heard another rendition of _All I Want For Christmas Is You_ \- the third of the day, as it so happened- and she let out a small groan before walking past the rows upon rows of cheap snacks and candy, up to the counter at the other side of the store, where her coworker was waiting.

“Thanks for covering,” Monika said.

“You smell like shit,” Natsuki replied.

“You wound me.” Monika clutched her hand to her chest as she said that, but Natsuki hardly looked apologetic. She just tossed Monika’s register key back towards her, and Monika scrambled to catch it before it hit the floor.

“You owe me one.”

“I owe you a hundred by now,” Monika laughed back. “You never actually call them in.”

“I will. Just wait.” Somehow Monika had a hard time believing that, but she didn’t say as much. She just circled around past Natsuki, taking her own place behind the register, and Nastuki walked past her to move back towards the floor.

“I’m gonna get back to stocking,” she said.

“Knock yourself out,” Monika replied. “Not like anyone’s gonna come in here to see all your hard work.”

“I know. That’s why I’m doing it now. Nobody to get in my way.”

“You’re so pragmatic,” Monika laughed, leaning forward and resting an elbow on the counter before she propped her cheek up with her hand, smiling at Natsuki. And Natsuki did glance backwards at her, though as per usual, she just seemed more irritated than anything else.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not,” Monika insisted. “I really admire your work ethic, and how well you think things through, and there’s absolutely no way for me to not make this sound sarcastic.”

“There isn’t,” Natsuki agreed. “So maybe quit while you’re behind.”

“Fair enough,” Monika sighed, while Natsuki pulled away and headed towards the back.

* * *

It hadn’t been an exaggeration on Monika’s part when she’d said nobody would be coming into the store. It was December 24th, and as it turned out, nobody was coming through a convenience store to buy candy and soda in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve. That still didn’t stop Natsuki from working diligently, though, apparently wanting to catch up on everything she hadn’t been able to do while she _was_ busy. And Monika, meanwhile, was just left standing behind the register and staring towards the door, coming up with a thousand different ways to try to entertain herself and kill time. Unfortunately she’d long since counted every tile on the floor, and every little speckle in their ceiling, so her options were growing thin.

“Three more hours,” Monika called out when the clock finally struck five.

“Three more hours until _closing_ ,” Natsuki reminded her.

“And how long is that gonna take when we've hardly seen a customer all day? We’ll be out of here by 8:10, I guarantee it.”

“I wish I were as optimistic as you,” Natsuki muttered.

“You could be. You don’t have to be such a grump about everything all time.” Natsuki finally stopped what she was doing at that point, pausing halfway through refilling a box of candy bars to look over towards Monika with a glare on her face, and the fact that she had actually managed to get a reaction out of Natsuki was something that Monika felt like she deserved to be proud of.

“You’re really annoying sometimes, you know that?” Natsuki asked, and once more Monika clutched her chest, and once more Natsuki didn’t look like she cared at all.

“Would it make it up to you if I helped you with that?” Monika asked.

“This isn’t your job.”

“I know that. That doesn’t mean I can’t help.” Natsuki looked like she was going to say something else in protest to that, but before she had the chance Monika was already hopping up and over the front counter, electing to do that rather than to just open the little gate that sat at the side of it. She wandered over to where Natsuki was crouched near the floor, crouching down herself on the other side of the enormous, wholesale box that Natsuki was stocking out of.

“You’re just gonna screw this up and make it take even longer,” Natsuki huffed.

“Do you always protest this much when someone tries to help you?” Monika replied. “Besides. It’s not like either of us have anywhere to be for a while. We’ve got time to kill.” Nastuki looked over at Monika when she said that, shooting a glare But she didn’t say anything else after that, and so Monika decided to take it as a victory.

She set about helping Natsuki after that, and despite what Natsuki might have said, Monika _did_ at least have enough confidence to know what she was doing. For a little while they didn’t speak, just stocking in silence- or at least, relative silence. _Actual_ silence would have been far preferable to listening to _Last Christmas_ for what must have been the hundredth time that season- it wasn’t fair that the store seemed to have four or five different versions of each of these songs in rotation. Monika didn’t mind the quiet, or the fact that she and Natsuki weren’t talking, but eventually she did speak up, if only because she was getting bored.

“So what are you doing tomorrow anyway?” she asked, glancing sideways as she spoke.

“Eh?” Natsuki replied, looking over at Monika out of the corner of her eye. “Same thing I always do on my days off. I dunno.”

“You don’t know?”

“Do I have to?”

“It’s Christmas,” Monika reminded her. “You don’t have any plans?” Even out of the corner of her vision Monika could see Natsuki freeze up when she asked that, and she glanced over, but the moment she did so Natsuki was turning her own eyes forward again, avoiding looking back at her.

“Nope. No plans.”

“Really? Your family’s not doing anything?” Natsuki tensed up again when Monika asked that, and there was a small pause before she gave her answer.

“They might be. I dunno. I’m not going.” At that point, fortunately, Monika was smart enough to read between the lines, and to not press the issue any further. Even if she didn’t know exactly what Natsuki was getting at, she could tell it was firmly none of her business, and probably not the sort of thing to bring up during the middle of their shift anyway.

“You know,” she ended up saying instead, “I don’t have any plans either. You should come over.” At that point Natsuki finally looked towards Monika again, and she was visibly surprised by the offer, blinking several times over with her mouth hanging slightly open before she spoke.

“Huh?” she asked. “Are you serious?”

“Sure, why not! It’d be a lot more fun than both of us spending Christmas alone.”

“I don’t mind spending Christmas alone,” Natsuki insisted. “Besides, don’t _you_ have family?”

“Sure, all the way on the other side of the country,” Monika replied. “But I work today, and I work Boxing Day, so it’s not like I can fly all the way out to see them just to hop on a plane and come right back.”

“Oh… Sorry,” Natsuki murmured. “That sounds like it sucks.”

“It’s fine,” Monika replied, shrugging casually as she spoke. “Just between you and me my parents’ cooking sucks anyway, so it’s not like I’ll be missing that.” She punctuated those words with a bit of laughter, though Natsuki’s face remained sullen, and she was looking forward again, staring at the shelf while making no motion to actually stock it. “I’m serious, you know,” Monika insisted after another moment. “Come on over tomorrow. We can have some dinner, listen to music that’s way better than the crap they play here, maybe marathon a couple Christmas movies or something. It’ll be fun.”

“No, that’s fine,” Natsuki insisted, shaking her head. “That’s a lot to throw on you at the last minute.”

“It’s not,” Monika replied. “It’s not like I’m cooking dinner for thirty people. It’ll be fine.”

“Really, I don’t wanna impose.”

“Oh my god, you’re not imposing,” Monika insisted, reaching out and putting a hand on Natsuki’s shoulder. “I’m asking you, alright? Spending Christmas with a friend sounds a lot more fun than spending it all by myself. So come on over tomorrow, okay? Please?” Once again Natsuki didn’t immediately respond to that, which didn’t surprise Monika by this point. She was still avoiding looking back at her too, though Monika could at least see her face well enough to see that scrunched up, contemplative expression that was lingering there, and after a few more seconds she finally responded.

“Promise I’m not gonna be a burden?” she asked.

“I promise,” Monika said. “It’ll be nice to have you there.”

“Alright,” Natsuki murmured out, before adding on, even more quietly, “Thanks.”

“Any time,” Monika said, flashing Natsuki a grin, before she pulled her hand back and stood up straight again. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some prep to do.”

“Huh? Prep for what?” Natsuki asked, looking up in sudden confusion.

“Prep for tomorrow, obviously! I wasn’t expecting a guest, and I’m pretty sure all the grocery stores are going to be closed by the time we get out of here. Plus,” she added, “I already said I wasn’t going to cook anyway. So I’m gonna see how good a Christmas dinner I can put together from the junk we sell here.”

“You’re really rolling out the red carpet for me, aren’t you?” Natsuki huffed, and Monika couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that Natsuki had already gotten comfortable enough to rib her again.

“Hey, I don’t break out the name brand sodas for just _anyone_. Now try not to peek!” she added on. “I want this to be a surprise!”

“Great,” Natsuki muttered. “That’s terrifying.”

* * *

Monika spent the next while running around the store trying to find anything that even vaguely resembled food, and thankfully the heated cases of pre-packaged meals at the front of the store were her savior there. A whole roasted chicken and a tub of mashed potatoes made for a nice enough main course, with another side of mixed frozen vegetables from the freezer case. Add in a few sodas for drinks, and a tub of ice cream and a few candy bars for dessert, and Monika was actually quite proud of the meal she had put together on such short notice. Maybe it wasn’t the most appetizing thing she’d ever seen in her life, but somehow, it still sounded better than her family’s home cooking.

Her endeavors were made easier by the fact that the store stayed just as quiet for the rest of the evening as it had for the entire day, and the only transaction Monika ended up ringing up between then and closing was her own. Eventually the time to close _did_ come around as well, and Monika stood there behind the counter going through the absolutely _arduous_ ordeal of counting up a drawer that had seen perhaps ten transactions all day, while Natsuki went around closing up the rest of the store. With how quiet it had been they had even managed to start their closing duties a bit early, which meant Monika’s 8:10 prediction had been right on the money.

“I cannot _wait_ to be out of here,” Monika said, strolling her way over to the door with her coat bundled up around her, and quite a few grocery bags on each arm.

“You sure you can carry those?” Natsuki asked.

“I’m stronger than I look,” Monika promised, flashing Natsuki a grin as she lifted her arms up and flexed for show- not that it was actually visible through her coat. And sure enough, Natsuki just rolled her eyes and turned around, starting to walk out the door.

“Whatever you say,” she huffed. “Let’s get out of here, then.” And Monika was just about to follow after her when she stopped, an enormous grin suddenly spreading over her face.

“Hey, Natsuki.”

“Yeah?”

“Look.” Natsuki paused halfway through the doorway as Monika said that, and then she turned around to look at Monika again, one eyebrow raised up curiously. Monika was already pointing above Natsuki’s head, meanwhile, and Natsuki followed her finger to where it was aimed at the top of the doorway, before a look of dread crossed over her face.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“ _No_.”

“Someone’s under the mistletooooooe!” Monika delightedly hummed. She had forgotten that it was even there until just now, honestly, but it had been put up a little while ago along with all the other holiday decorations, and had been lingering there over their doorway ever since.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Natsuki insisted.

“Awww, c’mon,” Monika teased, grin stretching wider as she walked closer to Natsuki. “It’s a holiday tradition.”

“It’s a stupid tradition.”

“It’s a _great_ tradition.”

“I’ll punch your teeth in.”

“You don’t mean that,” Monika said, grin turning into a pout, and she was standing just in front of Natsuki now, not even a foot apart. “C’mon. One little peck, for the holiday spirit.” Natsuki was glaring Monika dead in the eyes as she asked that, but after a moment she broke away, glancing off to the side instead. Natsuki’s cheeks were flushing a deep pink, Monika noticed, and the door hadn't been open for nearly long enough to blame it on the winter air.

“Fine,” she eventually huffed. “If it’ll get you off my back.” And Monika was honestly surprised by that, so much so that she wasn’t prepared when Natsuki looked back at her again. For a moment Monika realized she must have looked startled, but she quickly tried to correct that, letting a friendly smile return to her face.

“Deal,” she said. “You ready?”

“Just get it over with.”

“That’s the spirit.” Flashing one little grin Monika started to lean forward to close the rest of that small space between them, and try as hard as she might to live up to her promise that this was just something festive for the holidays, she still couldn’t stop herself from thinking about how cute Natsuki always looked when she was blushing and flustered like this. She seemed like she was fighting hard just to maintain whatever little measure of composure she still had, and it was downright adorable.

Maybe Monika wasn’t doing any better, though. As she finally leaned close enough for their lips to brush against each other she felt a flutter in her throat, and she felt her heart starting to beat faster. Maybe all of that teasing had just been masking her own nerves. But she couldn’t keep teasing now that her lips were occupied.

She had said that this was just going to be a quick holiday peck, and Natsuki had said the same. And yet, now that they were standing there with their lips against each other, Monika didn’t find herself pulling away- and she didn’t find Natsuki pulling away either. They stood there just a moment too long, neither of them moving, neither of them acknowledging that this had turned into something that it wasn’t meant to be. And then their lips broke away, but only for a split second, before they were finding each other again. They kissed once more, and Monika stepped a little bit closer, until there wasn’t any space left between them and their bodies brushed up against each other. Their lips broke apart again, only to find each other a third time just as quickly, and they parted slightly this time, and Monika felt her heart racing even faster than before. She started to lift her hands, slowly, delicately, to bring them to Natsuki’s sides, but the moment Monika’s fingertips brushed against her coat that finally seemed to be enough to shatter the moment.

Natsuki pulled away, sharply and abruptly, and suddenly her eyes were wide, as if she had only just realized what she’d done, and her face was burning even more brightly than it had been a moment before. She stood there with her mouth slightly open, staring up at Monika, and Monika wanted to say something in return, but she didn’t know what. That silence lasted for a few seconds, seconds that felt like an eternity longer than the kiss itself. And then, all too quickly and frantically, Natsuki was spinning on her heels and scrambling out the door.

“AlrightI’llseeyoutomorrowbye!” she shouted behind her, pulling her hood up over her head and disappearing into the night. And Monika was left to stand there and watch her go, slowly reaching her fingers up to brush them against her lips, where she could still feel Natsuki’s touch lingering.


End file.
